Machine



(No Model.)

E. A. 8: S. B. HILDRETH. WOOD sPLITT-ING MACHINE.

V 1n 7 1R e No. 262,591. Patented Aug. 15, 182.

7 the purpose, the wood to be split being held in UNITED STATES PATENT@FFTQE.

EDWIN A. HILDRETH AND STANLEY B. HILDRETH, OF HARVARD, MASS.

WOOD-SPLITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 262,591, dated August15, 1882. Application filed February 21, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWIN A. HILDRETH and STANLEY B. HILDRETH, both ofHarvard, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovementsin \Vood-Splitting Machines,of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to that class of woodsplittingmachines in which asingle knife plays up and down upon tracks or ways provided for thehands of the operator and resting upon a table below the knife referredto.

The nature of our invention consists in the construction of the variousparts of a woodsplitting machine in such a manner that the connectionbetween the pitman and the sliding ax-head may be capable of resistingthe great strain to which these machines are subjected also, in soconstructing the table (and its connecting parts) upon which the wood isplaced to be split that it can easily and quickly be raised or loweredto accommodate different lengths of wood and still besufficiently'strong to resist the great strain of splitting the hardest,toughest, and most knotty wood; also, in so constructing the screw tablethat when screwed down to the lowest point to which it can go in thesupporting bed-nut the table cannot become set or bound against the topof the bed-nut also, in so clamping the screw ofthe table that the tablewill not turn down under the force of the blowsof the ax, all as morefully set forth and described in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of referenceindicate like parts, Figure 1 is a front view ofa wood-splittingrnachineembodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view upon the line myofFig. 1, showing the screw-table upon which the wood is placed to besplit, the supporting bed-nut, and its connection to the mainframe-rods. Fig. 3 is a side view ofthe main frame-rods, the screwtablewith its supporting bed-nut, and the splitter aX-head, also showing thepivoted connection between the pitman and the sliding ax-head, thesection of the ax-head being taken in a vertical plane through thecenter of the pivots and ax.

A represents the main frame of ourimproved woodsplitting machine.

B is the cap-piece to the main frame, and B represents a cross bar orrod sill directly beneathothe cap-piece B.

R R are large strong iron rods,which we call the frame-rods, extendingthrough the cappiece 13 and through the boxin which the main shaft,which carries the balance-wheel, revolves. The frame rods R It alsoextend through the sill cross-bar B, and are secured by nuts restingupon the box above and by nuts beneath the sill cross-bar B, these nutsfitting upon threads cut. on each end of the frame-rods It It. To theseframe-rodsR R are secured the track-head and the tracks which guide thesliding aX-head. The table T, upon which the wood to be split is placed,is also secured to the main frame-rods RR, bringing all the variousstrains of the machine directly onto the frame-rods R B.

When a tough knotty stick is placed upon the table T to be split theknife a, as it descends, is forced downward by the pitman h, whichconnects the aX-head k with the crank-wrist and balance-wheel. Theresistance ofthe wood brings a great pressure upward upon the knife anddownward upon the table. If the connecting parts are all sufficientlystrong, the upward and the downward strains will all be conveyed to therods It 1%, and the wood will be forced asunder. The downward pressureof the pitman it upon the journals 6 c on the ax-head is so great as tocause danger of breaking the journal when tough, cross-grained, andknotty blocks are inserted under the knife. If the operator places sucha block of wood on the outer edge of the table, all the strain ofsplitting the block comes upon the outer end of the knife it. Underthese circumstances the journal 6 receives all or nearly all thedownward thrust of the pitman.

To guard against the possible danger of breaking the outerjournal, e,upon-the ax-head, we place an auxiliary support,f, upon the ax- .head,upon which supportf the end of the pitman h is formed to rest, relievingthe journal 6 of a portion of the strain and avoiding all danger ofbreaking thejournal 6, even although tough knotty blocks are placedunder the outer end of the knife a. By this arrangement a journal, 6,corresponding in size with the journal c, is sufficient under allcircumstances, and it is much more convenient to form them of equalsize, and it is not desirable to be obliged to increase the size ofeither journal, as the pitman swings upon them and a small journalallows more stock to remain in the pitman without increasing the weight.

h represents the cap of the pitman, secured to the main body of thepitman h by bolts j, and held in place by a small rib, i, to relieve theboltsj of the shearing strain.

T represents what we call a screw-table. It is formed with a broad flatsurface above, preferably round, as it is intended to be revolved toraise and lower the table; but it might be of any other shape, ifdesired. Upon the broad flat surface of the table T the wood to be splitis placed and held by the hands of the operator. The table T is formedof castiron, with a large stout stem or central column, t, extendingdownward from the center of the lower side of the table T. The table Tand column t are all cast in one solid piece. Upon the column we cut alarge strong screwthread, as shown in Fig. 3.

N is a large, deep, and strong nut, fitted with a thread correspondingto and fitting easily upon the screw upon the column t. This nut N wecall the supporting bed-nut. The bednut N is formed with projecting armshaving cylindrical grooves therein, which fit onto the main frame-rods RR, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A back clamp, G, as shown in Figs. 2 and3, is firmly bolted to the arms of the bed-nut N by bolts g g, which aretapped into the arms of the bed-nut N. The frame-rods R R are firmlyclasped between the arms of the bednut N and the back clamp, 0, when thebolts 9 g are tightened. The bed-nut N can be raised or lowered andsecured in any desired position upon the frame-rods, being held inposition by the grip of the cylindrical recesses in the arms of thebed-nut and the back clamp upon the frame-rods. The bed-nut N beingfirmly secured in position, the table T can quickly and easily be raisedor lowered by turning the table T around. By revolving the table T itcan be screwed upward in the bed-nut N until the table comes almost incontact with the knife or for very short wood; or it can be screwed downuntil the base of the table T almost rests upon the top of the bed-nutN. By this arrangement the table T can in a moment be adjusted todifferent lengths of wood, and, if a stick comes shorter than the othersticks which are being split, the operator can quickly adjust his tableto suit his convenience without moving from his seat, and can alsoadjust the table for a stick longer than usual, if required.

If the knife enters a tough knotty stick and does not. split the stick,the table can be revolved once or twice, so raising the table that thestick will be rent asunder without difficulty. When the table T isscrewed down in the bednut N until the base of the table approaches theupper surface of the bed-nut N, and should these two surfaces be allowedto come in contact, a blow from the ax upon a tough knot might set thescrew down so tightly as to render it almost impossible to loosen thetable again. To avoid all danger of setting the table when screwed downto its lowest point, we provide a stop, a, having a vertical face uponthe bed-nut N.

Upon the lower surface of the table T we form a projection, a, alsohaving a vertical face at an equal distance from the center of the screwit with the stop a. When the table is turned down as far as possible,andjust before the base of the table T comes into contact with the upperface of the bed-nut N the vertical face of the stop a comes into contactwith the vertical face of the stop a and prevents the table T fromturning any lower. In this position the table can never set down ontothe nut, as the-base of the table never comes in contact with the upperface of the bed-nut. When from this position the table T has beenrevolved once in the direction to raise the table the table T and screwt will have been raised one thread upon the screw. If the stop a doesnot lap onto the stop a more than the distance from one thread of thescrew to the next, the stop a will turn over the top of the stop u whenthe table is revolved one turn upward.

To prevent the screw-table from turning too loosely in the nut N in casethe screw should be a loose fit, or in case the screw should become wornfrom use, or to fasten the screwtable at any desired height, ifrequired, we provide a screw-bolt, b, turning in a thread formed in theside of the nut N, as shown in Fig. 2. A small wheel, I), is securedto'the set-bolt I), by means of which the bolt 12 is turned. The bolt 1)presses against a brass or copper block, a, which in turn pressesagainst the screw-column t of the screw-table T. By turning up theset-bolt b any desired degree of friction may be brought against thescrew-column t, and the table T can be prevented from turning too freelyin the bed-nut N; or the table T may be fastened at any desired height.

Having thus described the nature and operation of our invention, what weclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a wood-splittingmachine, of the balance-wheel,crank-shaft, and pitman driving the reciprocating ax a, the crank-box inwhich the crank-shaft revolves, main frame-rods It R, passing throughsaid crank-box and connecting the same with the bed-nutN, which isrigidly secured to said main frame-rods below the'table T, and theadjustable screw-table adapted to be raised or lowered in relation tothe reciprocating knife a by revolving the screw-table in the bed-nut N,substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a wood-splitting machine, of the reciprocatingknife to for splitting the wood, the adjustable screw-table T, uponwhich the wood to be split is placed, said table T being set nearer toor farther from the reciprocating knife on by revolving said screwtableand its supporting screw-column t in the bed-nut N beneath, and asuitable lockin g device to fasten the screw-table at any desired heightto prevent it from working downward under the repeated blows of the axa, subwith the base of the revolving table T, pre- IO venting thescrew-table from setting when down, substantially as described.

stantially as described. 5 3. The combination, in a wood-splitting ma-QRK E? chine, ofthe adjustable screw-tablel t, adapted J to be raised orlowered by revolving the same Witnesses: in a bed-nut, N, and stops at nto prevent the JANE 1). FULLER, face of the bed-nut from coming incontact MARY G. HILDRETH.

